And there was Ollie’s baby on the screen, curled up with its tiny hands and feet, and the cutest little face.
Eric breathed in sharply. “That’s—”
“That’s your baby,” Smith said with a warm smile. She turned the wand this way and that, looking at the fetus from different angles. “Looks like it’s developing well so far.”
Ollie couldn’t peel his eyes off the screen. That was his baby. Eric’s child. He couldn’t tell if it looked more like himself or Eric, but he wanted to reach in and cradle that child close, tell it Your dads are here and we love you so much.
His chest full, he glanced at Eric, only to find Eric’s expression torn. Like he wasn’t entirely happy to see their baby.
Olivier looked back at the screen, his heart sinking. What’s wrong, Eric? Why won’t you tell me?
He tangled his fingers with Eric’s, relaxing slightly when Eric squeezed his hand.
“Looks good,” Eric murmured. At least, he sounded honest this time.
“Would you like to look at the baby for yourself?” Smith asked, pointing at the wand.
“You mean, I get to hold that?” Ollie asked.
The doctor nodded, handing the wand over. Olivier held it with both hands, tipping it back and forth. The image on the screen swiveled.
Then he pressed it against another side of his belly, and the screen showed a glob of black and white.
Smith tapped on the keyboard, tilting the wand to bring the fetus back into the screen. “That’s the baby’s back. Would you like to know its sex?”
Unsure, Olivier glanced up at Eric, only to find Eric looking at the ultrasound image with inscrutable eyes. “Eric?”
Eric blinked and glanced up. “What?”
“The baby’s sex,” Ollie said. How could Eric be distracted now? This was their baby!
Eric shrugged. “Do you want to know?”
Wondering if it would bother Eric not to know, Olivier said, “We’ll wait until the birth.”
Eric seemed okay with that.
Smith nodded. Ollie took Eric’s hand, wrapping it around the ultrasound wand, too. For a moment, Eric’s eyes brightened. They held the wand together, and Ollie felt Eric’s attention entirely on him, Eric squeezing his thigh lightly.
Eric wasn’t annoyed with Ollie or anything, it was just his work. That eased the worry in Olivier’s chest.
When they handed the ultrasound wand back, Dr. Smith asked, “Would you like to purchase ultrasound images of your baby? They’re five dollars each.”
Ollie thought Eric would ask for two. Instead, Eric said, “We’ll have one.”
It wasn’t like him to think about skimping—that was Olivier’s thing. Nervously, Ollie waited until they ended the visit with Dr. Smith.
When they sat down in the waiting room, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Eric dragged his hand down his face. “Shit’s happening at work.”
“It’s not because of me, is it?”
Eric hesitated. And Olivier had a sinking feeling, suddenly. It would explain why Eric had been looking so conflicted during the ultrasound.
“Tell me, Eric.” Olivier wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he wanted to ease Eric’s pain.
Eric didn’t answer for the longest time. Then he unlocked his phone. Turned the screen toward Olivier.
It was an email, all black text against a white background.
Eric, we regret that we’ll have to let you go. Your last day at Total Sounds will be this Sunday. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Olivier read the message, over and over. Refused to understand what that meant. “How—Why...?”
“I was fired,” Eric said, looking away.
Olivier stopped breathing. Eric’s words rang in his head, and he couldn’t look away from Eric’s phone. That was why Eric had been distracted during the ultrasound. And Ollie didn’t know until now.
Because Eric had lost his job.
Ollie sat back in his seat, feeling boneless. How could I have been so selfish, begrudging him? “Why?”
Eric glanced sidelong at him. “For liaising with the competition.”
He was fired because of me. Olivier stared at his hands, his ears ringing. “What—” he gulped “—What do we do?”
“We’ll keep going,” Eric said. “I’ll find another job.”
But that wasn’t right at all. Eric shouldn’t have to lose his livelihood just because of Ollie. Olivier gulped down a breath. “I’ll head over and tell them I’m at fault. I’ll talk to your boss, Eric—”
Eric pressed his fingers to Ollie’s lips gently. “No, Ollie.” He met Olivier’s eyes, his gaze solemn. “It’s fine. We’ll move on.”
“But that’s your job.”
“I’ll help figure out what to do with the shop,” Eric said, a tiny crease in his forehead betraying his worry. “We’ll need to push hard on the advertising front—”
“Olivier,” the receptionist called.
Ollie jumped, his heart thumping. Eric stood before he did, pulling out his wallet.
The bill was a couple hundred dollars. Olivier tensed; he’d never actually sat down and counted out how much his new baby would cost.
And this was just the first doctor visit, wasn’t it? It didn’t include subsequent visits, or the hospital bill, or whatever medical treatment he and the baby might need in the future... And there was Jenn, too.
Olivier didn’t have enough money for everything.
Eric swiped his card in the card reader, his expression inscrutable. Ollie cradled his belly numbly. The receptionist handed Eric the ultrasound image.
Eric tucked the picture into Olivier’s hand. Then he signed off on the transaction, and Ollie followed him to the car outside.
Olivier’s Strings was breaking even now, but just barely. It hardly made enough for Ollie alone to survive. Now that Eric had lost his job, when would he find another? How could Olivier keep their family afloat?
Could they afford a baby?
Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe I need to close Olivier’s Strings and find an actual job.
Eric pulled him into a hug, his arms steady against Ollie’s back. “Don’t worry about it,” he murmured. “Things will turn out fine.”
“Will they?” Ollie croaked. I can’t keep being a burden on him. He’ll be stubborn and do everything to help.
